From Writer to Blogger: The Curse of Medium

Ideas to help you fight.

When I was six, I wanted to become a writer. That meant going to the local library with my grandma, browsing the shelves, and seeing my name on one of the book covers. I would turn to look at Grandma, and she would smile and tell me how proud I made her.

But writing is a grind.

You have to write 80,000 words and spend months on your own, writing without any feedback. And then you have to wait, edit, wait, edit, repeat this ten times, spend some more time alone, and in the end, receive dozens of rejection letters.

That’s harsh.

Blogging is much easier.

You write 500 words, barely edit them, hit publish, and get instant feedback in the form of likes, views, claps, and read ratios.

AND.

You can even get paid for the 500 words. That’s a much better feeling than receiving a rejection letter, even if it pays less than a cent per word.

But it keeps your eyes away from the prize and your goal, which is (was?) to write a book.

If you want to be a blogger, fine by me, and good luck to you, but if you want to be a writer, here are four ways to stop the curse of Medium.

Complain about it: Philip Ogley

Admitting you have a problem is always the first step. If you’re a Medium writer, the second step is to write about it to make a few $ if you’re in luck.

That’s where Philip is right now.

Formerly a book and scriptwriter, Philip now writes self-described “glorified post-it notes.” I wish him the best of luck and invite him to follow one of the next examples.

Taking a break: Mike Knittel

On February 16, Mike announced he was taking a little break from Medium. Mike found himself chasing the algorithm instead of focusing on his book-writing goal.

His solution was to stop one and start the other.

Mike hopes that after a few months, he’ll manage both. I hope Mike will reach Simon Dillon’s efficiency because I enjoyed his articles a lot.

Planning and priorities: Simon Dillon

Color me impressed, but Simon Dillon manages both Medium and writing books.

It’s thanks to strict planning.

Simon starts the day with his most important task: making breakfast for his wife. After that, he focuses on writing at least 1,000 words for his current work-in-progress before doing anything else related to writing. Next in line is a Medium article, usually a movie listicle, and only then does Simon engages with social media, emails, comments, and Medium notifications.

Scribophile: Ann James

It’s a collaborative website where you can post chapters of your novel in progress and receive constructive feedback from other writers. Of course, you write critiques yourself to earn “karma points,” the currency that allows you to post and ask for reviews.

Scribophile helps shorten the feedback loop and brings some of the instant Medium experience to the long adventure of book writing. It also allows you to be part of a community — a priceless feeling when you spend too many solitary hours typing at your desk.

Best of luck

Whether you want to be a successful full-time writer or blogger, I wish you the best of luck because both are extremely difficult.

A small percentage make a living wage from blogging, and “90% of self-published books sell less than 100 copies.”

So, brace yourself for a long grind in both cases, hope for the best, and don’t forget to re-assess regularly if that’s still what you want to do!

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